Machine for forming wire springs



(No Model.)

R. S. BA

INE FOR IORMI WIRE SPRINGS.

a. ented Mar. 13,1883.

MACH

d'5. L ffl/(l NITED STATES PATENT I CFFICE.

RUEL S. BALDWIN, OF SPARTA, WISCONSIN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING WIRE SPRINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming 'part of Letters Patent No. 273,933, dated March 13, 183.

(No model.)

To all whom fit lmay concern Be it known that I, RUEL S. BALDWIN, of Sparta, in the county ot' Monroe and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain Im provements in Machines for Forming Wire Springs, ot' which the following is a specitication.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, eiicient, and durable device for forming wire springs of exact uniformity as regards their size and length, and to form in the end coil of said spring a shoulder or bend to facilitate the rm attachment of the extremity of the. wire thereto.

To this end the invention consists, tirst, in a rotary cone or former constructed with a groove wherein to wind the wire and with a movable cutter operating in connection with a stationary cutter or shoulder thereon to sever the wire when the spring is completed, the movable cutter heilig operated by a tixed pulley or equivalent bearing, against which it is carried by the rotation ot' the former.

It consists, second,in a bending-slide, also mounted upon the cone or former and operated in the same manner as the knife, the second slide having its end of such form as will act upon and bend or crook the Wire at the required point.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of my machine. Figs. 2 and 3 are sections ofthe same on the line wx and yy, respectively. Fig. Lis aperspective view,showingthebending-slidedetached. Fig. 5 is a plan view, showing tbe form ot' the spring as it is produced by the machine. Fig. 6 is a view showing the slide provided with both cutting and bending shoulders.

A represents the rotary driving shaft or arbor, which may be mounted in supports L of any suitable character and driven by means of a. crank, pulley, or by gearing adapted to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow.

B represents the body ofthe former, upon which the wire is wound and by which the shape and size of the spring are determined. It may be ot' a conical form or of a cylindrical or any other form corresponding with that of the spring to be produced. The former is provided with a circumferential spiral groove, a, to receive the wire, and at its outer end is preferably provided with a notch, b, or a pin, clip, or equivalent device to retain one end of the wire during the winding process. At its inner end, at or near the termination ofthe groove, the former B is provided with a fixed cutting shoulder or knife, D, coinciding with or forming one side of the groove at that point, so that the wire will be laid across and against itas the winding action is ended and the spring completed. The severance ot' the wire is effected by the co-o1iieration of this fixed edge with a sliding blade, E, mounted in a longitudinal groove in the former B, moved endwise by being carried against the pulley F, or, its equivalent, an inclined bearing fixed in position on the frame. At each revolution of the former B the movable knife encounters and is pushed inward by the pulley, causing the cutting-edge T at its inner end to move past the shoulder D, thus severing the wire lying between the two. A spring, K, acting upon the sliding knife, moves the same outward as soon as it has moved past the pulley. The former is rotated in the direction indicated. The end of the wire being applied in the outer end of the groove, the wire is quickly wound into the latter from end to end. As the wire enters the inner end of the groove it passes between the two cutting-edges and is immediately severed thereby, thus releasing the tinished spring.

ln the formation ot' springsfor use in mattresses and beds it is customary to attach the end ofthe wire to the wire itself at the beginning ofthe end coil. In order that the wire may be thus attached firmly and prevented t'rom sliding at the point ot' connection, the wire is commonly bent or crooked at thepoint ot' attachment. To secure this bending ofthe wire, l apply to the cone or former a second slide, I, mounted and actuated in the same or substantially the same manner as the sliding cutter. The inner end ot' this second slide, however, instead of being provided with a cutter-edge, is made in the peculiar form represented in Fig. 4, with three projecting fingers, d, arranged in such manner that they will act upon the wire lying in tne groove and give thereby the crook or bend desired. The essential feature of the invention as regards this IOC bending device consists in adapting the same to act upon the Wire as stated. and it is obvious that the ngers may be dispensed with or modified in form, provided only that the 5 slide is adapted to give the required bend to the Wire at the proper point.

Instead of using two separate slides, E and I, the cutting-shoulder and the bending ngers or shoulders may both be formed in one 1o and the same slide, the fingers at the inner end and the shoulder at the middle.

While it is preferred to employ the roller F to actuate the slide or slides because of the small amount of friction developed, it is obi 5 vious that a stationary inclined shoulder could be substituted for the roller.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. rlhe rotary head or former provided with zo the stationary cutting-shoulder and with the movable cutter, in combination with the Xed .roller or its equivalent to actuate the movable cutter.

2. The rotary grooved head having the sta- 25 tionary shoulder or cutter, combined with the sliding cutter seated therein, and the lixed pulley.

3. In a spring-forming machine, a rotary grooved head or former provided with the cutter, in combination with a movable cutter mounted thereinand carried therewith, and a stationary device, substantially as shown, to operate said movable cutter,

4. In a spring-bending machine, the combination of a rotary former whereon the wire is wound and a movable bending'slide, substantially as described, to crook or bend the Wire While Wound upon the former.

I 5. In combination with the former, the slide provided with the three ngers and the stationary pulley arranged to actuate said slide.

6. In a machine for forming wire springs, the combination of a rotary head or former Whereon the wire is wound, a cutting, and bending slide located `upon the former, and a stationary device, substantially as described, to operate said slide.

RU EL S. BALDWIN.

Witnesses:

J. D. GoNDrr, S. L. MILLIGEN. 

